“N” is for Nollywood

We all grew up on Hollywood fare. Most of us would have heard of Bollywood, India’s home-grown film industry.

Now we need to add the term “Nollywood” to our list. “Nollywood” refers to Nigeria’s fledging film industry that gives “guerrilla film making a whole new meaning.”

Making action flicks on a 9 day turn around, on a shoe-string budget of just a few thousand dollars and equipped with the bare minimum of digital camera equipment.

Nigeria’s fledging film industry has become the subject of a documentary film, “This is Nollywood”

I cannot wait to see this film because I think it will compel me to think about Africa in a new way.

Words like “fun”, “entertainment” and “movie-making” seldom come to mind when we think of Africa. Instead stereotypes of the Continent of Darkness persist. Our perception of Africa is often shaped by media stories of Aids, corruption and despair.

Any film that broadens that narrow view of Africa is a welcome addition to our world.